Human Beings as the Puppets of Society Essay -- Papers Behavior Sociol

Human Beings as the Puppets of Society Sociologists have long argued about whether or not we ar controlled by the structure of the ordering in which we live, in other words, atomic number 18 we or ar we not puppets of company. Social structure theorists such as Functionalists and conflict theorists like Marxists, believe that we are puppets and that our behaviour is controlled by the structure of the society in which we live. Both theories suggest that people are controlled by society but this argument is opposed by social action theorists such as Symbolic Interactionists who believe that society is created by the individuals themselves. To show far it can be argued that human beings are puppets of society this essay will olfactory sensation at functionalism and social control by the family, Marxism and social control within the education system and then look at the opposing theory of Symbolic Interactionism. It is also intended to hash out the recent structuration theory of Giddens who argues that these theories are no longer valid in determining if we are puppets because both structure and action are undeniable for society to exist and thus in some instances in our lives we are puppets and others we are not. According to Jones, Functionalists like Durkheim find human behaviour as learned behaviour(2004, p.6), in other words everything we know and do has to be taught to us given that when we are born we have no knowledge of anything. They argue that all our behaviour is learnt through the socialisation process. Functionalists consider that primary socialisation is the basis to learning the norms, values and roles of society and... ...eeded, so it could be argued, therefore, that even though at times we are stop agents and have an individual choice in our actions we are also puppets of society because of the many of the structures of society. References List Czerniawski, G., 2004. What is the Role of Education? Sociology Review, 14 (2), 24-25 Giddens, A., 2002. Sociology. 4th ed. economy Press Jones, P., 2004. Introducing Social Theory. Cambridge Polity Press Wilson, A., 1985. Society Now Family. capital of the United Kingdom Tavistock Publications Bibliography Moore, S., 2001. Sociology Alive. 3rd ed. Cheltenham Nelson Thornes Ltd Haralambos and Holborn, 2000. Sociology Themes and Perspectives. 5th ed. London Collins Educational Bauman Z & whitethorn T., 2003. Thinking Sociologically. 2nd ed. London Blackwell Publishing Ltd